The importance of family in acculturation process of adolescents of Moroccan origin in Spain.

The objective of this study was to analyse the relationship between variables of the family context (perceived family support, quality of parent-adolescent communication and family ethnic socialisation) and the acculturation process (perceptions and preferences of cultural maintenance and adoption) among adolescents of Moroccan origin living in Spain. The sample consisted of 360 Moroccan adolescents (58.7% females) between 12 and 19 years old, enrolled in different schools, who filled out a self-report questionnaire. Results showed positive and significant relationships between family variables and acculturation, especially for cultural maintenance. Mediation models showed that perceived family support predicts cultural maintenance (perceptions), with quality of communication with the mother, family ethnic socialisation and preferences of cultural maintenance acting as serial mediators (in the first model), and with quality of communication with the father and preferences of cultural maintenance acting as serial mediators (in the second model). These results evidence the importance of family variables in the acculturation process of Moroccan adolescents, especially in the maintenance of their origin culture.